The Lord’s fundamental identity is to be a Father. He wants us to draw close to Him as spiritual sons. He also encourages our relationship with our natural fathers, when possible. He pours grace into our relationship with a spiritual father, as well.
10 Questions to Ask Your Father Read More »
As you continue to explore your identity as a spiritual father, be willing to press deeper, to the true, biblical meaning of the term. We can colloquially say you are “fathering” certain individuals, but be willing to challenge yourself: is it really fathering, or perhaps discipling, or maybe just training? There is a difference between those three roles.
Tests of Spiritual Fatherhood Read More »
About 60 times, the Bible uses the term “inherit” and about 190 times it mentions “inheritance”. That’s pretty significant. The topic immediately reminds us of what an older, loving family member leaves to the children in a will. When God uses those words, He wants us to take them seriously. His fundamental identity is “Father”, so He is prone to plan for His family’s needs.
Kingdom Inheritance Read More »
One of my Pastor buddies sang an acapella version of the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” at a luncheon we attended. It was a magnificent performance which stirred my soul. The Lord prompted me to concentrate on these lyrics: “All I have needed thy hand has provided.” Those words are so encouraging and comforting to me. But when we sing this triumphant piece, do we realize that we are expressing thanks to God for His commonwealth economy?
Kingdom Economics Part 4 Read More »
In Part 2 of this Kingdom Economics series, I dug a theoretical foundation but didn’t supply the blueprint. I hope to clarify any remaining uncertainty with this piece.
Kingdom Economics Part 3 Read More »
In considering the merits of various economic systems, we run the risk of arguing from man’s history back to God’s intent. We may even be caught examining our historical abuse and religious mismodeling of God’s intentions and then demanding legal protection from our own foolishness. This would be deductive reasoning running amok.
Kingdom Economics Part 2 Read More »
My friend, you’ve got the sequence and the logic a little off. The Creator God has a plan; He is intentional and strategic. Here’s the backstory. God created this universe as a 3-dimensional colony of heaven, His Kingdom’s headquarters. He formed man’s body from the newly created place, Earth, but then breathed His Spirit into Adam’s nostrils. This indwelling spirit would serve as a modem to transmit God’s desires and man’s requests from heaven to Earth, back and forth. He gave governing authority to His greatest creation, mankind (“Let us make man in our own image…” and “let them have dominion”). The Lord rightfully expected a loving, collaborative relationship with His Governor, Adam. We originally had immense liberty to run the colony as we wanted because the Lord could count on us to follow His developmental strategy. God operates a Kingdom, not a religion.
I did, although I would prefer to exchange the phrase “religious person” for “spiritual believer.” Religion is man’s attempt to prove himself to God. It separates and objectifies others. It controls adherents by requiring ritualized performance. Religion is a ‘Tower of Babel’ attempt to justify ourselves to God. But what provokes it? Notice across cultures, millenia and geography that mankind has exhibited a profound search for meaning. We just know there’s something greater than ourselves ‘out there’. This is a spiritual yearning which demands an answer.
Friends of mine have proposed and defended the theory that capitalism is the economic system which best manifests God’s Kingdom on Earth. Although it’s certainly an excellent wealth-producing mechanism when the playing field remains level, I believe that capitalism is NOT the best we can do.
Kingdom Economics Part 1 Read More »
Certain men are born with big, self-sufficient personalities. They are wired to win and to lead, not merely to participate. Some apply these qualities in competitive athletics, politics, business pursuits, scientific discovery, or the military.
A Home for the Horses Read More »
